The Nexus In The Void
by shyraton
Summary: All her life she was mocked and called a failure. But the mere chance of a blue stone finding its way into her arms changed everything in ways she could have never imagined.
1. Prologue

I do not hold owner ship of either Demon Souls or Familiar of Zero; this is a free fan based writing

The mausoleum was massive.

It held a vast space, where the faintest whisper could echo throughout the great chamber. In its center was a statue, almost as tall as the chamber itself, of a robed maiden suspended in the air. Stair wound down along the walls from highest balcony, connecting to the second and ending at the ground. The room itself was circular in shape; with the walls bear of any decoration save but a few candles to light the steps.

At the bottom stood the only sign of décor, two simple connected flights of stairs with a set of pillars on each level and an arch between them over a bottomless hole. Each of the pillars hard a stone tablet, depicting a different person of sorts. They were in order a king, a miner, a queen, a chieftain though this pillar was broken oddly enough, a bishop, and what looked like a woman in a mask of a bird.

The final piece one might notice of the great chamber was the pit in the center. Not so much the pit itself, but the curious ever rotating runic circles spread across it. Writing in an incomprehensible language, they glowed in a light green color and moved across the empty space like water on glass, suspended by an unseen force.

It was on this unseen force that a woman in black stood.

"I will be leaving soon…" she said. Above her on the archway a man in metal armor nodded.

"I know."

"You hunt me down won't you?"

"I will."

Though she couldn't see his face, she knew a solemn expression must have existed beneath his helm.

"I always knew something like this might one day happen." He muttered "It was simply a matter of how or why." She cast her eyes down.

"Yes… I guess after what happened then…"

"No, before that," She looked back at him, surprised "It's was from the moment I first met you that I knew that we might one day be turned against each other." A sad smile graced her lips.

"But how will you follow me, you are still bound to this place are you not?"

"One can only open the door to this place so another can pass through. If one has the power to open a door for you, then so to can another open the door for me."

A noise interrupted their conversation. The circles beneath the woman's feet began to a line and beneath them the endless abyss was filled with a green light.

"It looks like I we be going now." Said the woman as the circles began to expand. "Despite what the outcome may be, I still hope to see you again."

The circle reached the edges of the pit and the woman fell in to the green void below. The armored man watched for a moment as the circles began to shrink back, then he reaching a pouch and pulled out a blue stone. He held it above the closing gate way, waited a moment, and then dropped it into the opening just before it closed.

The light faded and the magic rings resumed their original strange dance across the empty void.

The man crossed his legs and like a fisher man he waited as time slowly passed on.

"Now I wonder, who will it be that opens the door for me."

And so he waited, and waited, and waited.

He would wait till the end of time if needed, no matter how impossible his presence made that.


	2. Hunting for a Servant

"For the time being please be more careful and spend some more time practicing your control." The headmaster drawled for what he felt had been the umpteenth time.

"Yes sir." The young girl replied.

"You may go now Miss Vallière." The headmaster waved his hand in dismissal and set back to signing his paperwork.

"Thank you Mr. Osmond"

With a dejected sigh she left the room closing the door behind her. She made it halfway down the stairs before she ran into _them_ again.

"So how was it Louise? In the reflection room again, or are they finally going to expel you?"

"I'm not in the mood Kirche" Louise grumbled and tried to pass by her. Kirche Zurbustto, the bane of her existence ever since she had entered the academy. The dark skinned Germanian Kirche had everything Louise didn't, looks, talent, and popularity. And she never passed up a chance to mock Louise or rub every little victory in her face. What was even more aggravating was that little blond harpy Montmorency was with her too.

"Oh understand, having another of those _bad days_ again."She jibbed "today's little accident was evidence to that." Louise rounded on this remark.

"That was just a little mistake!"

"Oh," Kirche mocked "so nearly destroying the class room **again** was _just a little mistake?_ Honestly Louise, with your track record it'll be a miracle if you manage to summon anything tomorrow at the spring time festival." Fiery indignation took over Louise at this point. If just one thing went right, ONE THING, then she could finally have something to hold over THEM about. Unwilling to take anymore of the childish taunting she yelled out without thinking.

"I have complete faith in the summon servant spell! Just you watch, I'll summon a familiar so strong and powerful it will outclass anything you or anyone could ever even hope to summon." Louise then promptly stormed off, leaving a surprised duo behind her.

"Hey, Tabitha, what do you think?" Kirche asked the only person that hadn't talked during the confrontation.

"I don't know." Was the only response they got from the blue haired girl. She was too invested in her reading to care much for Louise's boast.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

As Louise got dressed into her nightgown that night depression sunk in. She collapsed onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

"I shouldn't have said that." Despite her pride and stubbornness Louise new she had backed herself into a corner. The spring time festival was maybe her last chance to prove herself as a competent mage. She would have settled to just summon anything, even a dog. But now that she had giving that little boast anything she summoned would just be met with more criticism and taunting. The only way out of that would if she needed something big, something powerful, but her chances at that were almost destitute at that.

Oh how much she wished she were home now with her elder sister Cattleya. But then she would have to face her eldest sister Eleanor and, worse, her mother.

Louise shuddered at the thought. That was the other reason why she had to succeed tomorrow; she couldn't bear the thought of raising the ire and disappointment out of her family again. She could only hope that maybe she might get lucky and gat a powerful regiment for the ritual. Every year the Academy brought in materials both great and petty for students to use during the summoning. Sometimes the head master also liked to sneak in a stronger ingredient or random magical knickknack that someone could use to get a particularly unique familiar. Everything would have to gamble on that.

Somewhere out there was a magnificent creature that could be her last chance at salvation. She just needed to summon it.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

"Today is the day of your summoning." The balding Prof. Colbert announced. "This will be your first exam of your second year, as well as the sacred day of your first encounter with your familiar spirit who you will spend the rest of your life with as part of an aristocratic family." He continued his speech to the gather students in the castle courtyard for a while. As he spoke on about the importance of a familiar and it's relation to its mage Louise's eyes were drawn to the table where the supplies were was being set up. Scanning it to the best of her ability, Louise hoped to find something note worthy in the pile.

"I can hardly wait to see what kind of _great _familiar you will summon."

"Leave me alone, Kirche."

"And now without further delay you may begin the ritual! Those of you who wish to use a catalyst for for your spell can select one from the table over there. Those who wish to begin right away please form a line in front of me." Colbert finished and the crowed got into motion again.

Louise hurried to the table where the other students were already clustering around. There was a little elbowing a shoving involved but after about five minutes she was able to force her way to the front. Unfortunately by this point there weren't many decent regiments left. Running her fingers over what she was left Louise didn't see much potential. Some wolf fangs, a pile of salt, horse hair, some copper, a large blue sto- "Agck!"

The second her fingers touched it the stone briefly glowed. It was a light blue with specks of white on it and the sides were rough and unpolished. Louise gave it another experimental poke and sure enough the rock took on a glow with a sapphire hue. She hesitated, then picked it up to examine it further. It felt cool, like spring water in her hands, and seemed to give her a feeling of tranquility like all the stress in the world was no longer as imposing as it once was.

"Wow Fredrick summoned a bugbear!" Louise was broken from her thoughts to see a huge floating eyeball in the middle of the field. Making a final decision she pocketed the stone and walked back to join the rest waiting for their turn at the ritual. Joining the crowd she overheard Montmorency and another student, Guiche de Gramount if she recalled correctly talking.

"If I summoned a familiar like that it'd be the embarrassment of a life time."

"I'm sure you will summon a cute and lovely familiar, Montmorency."

"Humph, obviously."

"They say that the summoned familiar spirit is a perfect match for a mage, they reflect the very essences of their summoner." Guiche began dramatically, striking a pose as he did so. "I may summon a-"

"Next" The professor called.

"Oh, yes." Guiche walked to the open space in the field. Once more he posed dramatically. "It is me, Guiche de Gramount, Mr. Colbert. I shall now summon the most amazing familiar in the school's history. And then the school's fame shall-"

"Get on with it there is a line behind you." The Professor cut in, already acquainted with Guiche's bragging ability.

"Well then." Guiche said sheepishly. Then with yet another pose he held out a rose that he used for hi wand. "Ahem. Oh great Burimill who leads us. Bring fourth one who shall serve I, Guiche the Bronze." Suddenly the ground began to rumble. "Answer to thy scared summoning, my familiar."

Cracks appeared in the ground and quickly a mound of dirt was forced up. The shaking increased as the dirt was pushed aside. Surprised voices came from the other students as the creature tore through the earth to heed its new master's call.

And then a giant mole poked its head out of the ground.

Louise had to bite back the laugh that everyone else was failing to contain. The task only made worse when she saw the look on Guiche's face. She was ashamed to admit it but it was nice to have someone else be the center of mockery for once.

"Hey Look, Kirche summoned a salamander!" Louise looked over to see, there with same smug expression on her face, was Kirche petting a large red reptile. Salamanders were large wolf sized fire breathing lizards that lived near volcanic areas. They were rare and exotic in their own right, and now _Kirche _had one to lord over her.

"Well, well, you've summoned a quite an impressive one didn't you Miss Zurbustto." Said the professor.

"It matches my runic name, The Feveret Kirche."She smirked.

"Well now, have we gone through everyone?" Prof. Colbert called. Silently Louise hoped that she wouldn't get called on. Then she would have back up that stupid boast of hers.

"No, not quite, Ms Valliere hasn't gone yet."

_Damn you Kirche!_

Slowly Louise walked to the open field like a prisoner to the gallows. Over and over in her head she thought_ don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up._

"Hey it's Louise the Zero." She heard the student's whispering. "What do you think she'll summon."

"Nothing it'll just be another explosion and that will be it." Louise ignored them to the best of her ability as stood in the open space.

"You said you can summon something more spectacular than this little, beauty right Louise?" Kirche called. _Great_ Louise thought, _now she's set me up for the fall._

"Naturally." she spat back before taking out the stone and putting it on the ground.

"Using a regiment are we Ms Valliere, well we will see what it turns out."

"A different colored explosion!" someone shouted and the whole class started laughing.

"Students, students that's enough!" The professor shouted. "Please continue Ms. Valliere."

Louise tightened her grip on her wand. _Please work!_ She held out her wand over the stone. Strengthening her resolve she began.

"To my servant that lives somewhere in the vast universe." The stone glowed.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

Somewhere, in a realm between worlds, a being of unprecedented power stirred.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

"What kind of chant is that?"

"Well its original I'll give it that."

Louise continued. "Oh sacred, beautiful and powerful familiar!" At her feat the stone began to glow brighter.

"Hey anyone else notice something off about that rock?"

"I desire and plead from my heart!" Louise yelled. The stone was now shining to the point where some had to cover their eyes.

"Answer to my guidance" She finished. The stone flashed neon white, bathing the area with its glow, and then the light went out.

For a few seconds nothing happened. That was bad. Her chant was pretty exaggerated as ir was and if it didn't turn out anything people would start to _laugh_ at her again. Louise could almost _feel_ the mockery that the other students were about to send towards her. Then a hissing sound started to emanate from the stone. On the ground next to it, letters began to appear in the same sapphire color that it had glowed with. It drew everyone's eyes the way the snaked and chiseled out the ground. She couldn't read the writing; it was in some other language. But for some reason they gave a memorizing appearance. The letters were elegant yet simple, exact yet loose and flowing, like they were drawn by an painter rather than a author.

"I say…." Said the professor, eyes drawn magnetically as well. "I've never seen a set of symbols like that before"

When the message finish etching itself into the ground the stone began to wobble, then shake as it glowed again. Then a column of blinding blue and white light erupted from the stone. Outcries of shock and panic began.

"W-what did she do!"

"This is bigger than her usual screw up!"

"Are we all gonna die!"

The light reached the skyline and dissipated with a shock wave in the air. Now above them giant rings of green light appeared, all of them marked with the same letters that had been on the ground. They hovered silently in the sky, rotating above them as though observing the little castle for it's worth.

"L-Louise what did you do?" She heard Kirche ask. Louise didn't answer; she simply sat there and watched as the rings began to move. All of them were converging on a single point right above the stone. All of them join together into one singular ring and then again stopped completely. This time they paused for a longer period of time. They hung there for several seconds like they were waiting on an unknown signal. Then a vortex appeared in the center with the sound of a violent windstorm. With it was a loud metallic groan like the very sky was straining to support its weight. It continued for a moment before a ball of light fell out of the vortex hit the ground with an explosion. The rings faded, ending the spectacle and leaving nothing but smoke in the field.

"Even after all that it ended with another explosion" One of the students wheezed out. Several people had been knocked over by the blast. Some were recovering better than others but most were still reeling, the smoke not making it any easier. The general confusion and groaning of the crowd was, however, swept aside in an instant by what followed.

"Well, that was hap hazardous."

The dust cleared and where the stone had been, sitting and propped up on one leg, was a man in full body plate armor. Large scrape mark marred the surface of his metal suit and the paint that adorned it as decoration was chipped and fading; a sign that it was well used and well worn. On his back was a shield, on his hip a sword, and in his hand he held the stone.

"You know if you're going to summon someone, it's not a very wise thing to drop them from on high in the process." He said, standing as he did so. "At any rate, why have you called me mage?"

There was a pause, and then the laughing started.

"Oh, oh my gosh that's hilarious. After that huge light show she was only able to turn out some random swordsman commoner." Kirche practically doubled over with mirth.

"I-I didn't mean to, it was just a mistake!" Louise shouted in a panic. If she had been paying attention she would have noticed the swordsmen tilting his head in confusion "Mr. Colbert, please let me try the spell again!"

Mr. Colbert, who had been watching the whole summoning process with the most intent, seemed to be brought out of a trance. Recovering himself he turned to his student.

"Aw, yes, I'm sorry Ms. Valliere I can't allow that."

"What! Why!"

"The spring time festival is a scared ceremony that determines a mages life, the summon servant spell brings forth a familiar that reflects oneself. Redoing it would insult the ritual and our traditions. Like it or not this man is now you're familiar."

The man in question stood patiently observing the conversation despite his apparent being ignored.

"But I've never heard of a plebeian being someone's familiar spirit." Louise argued. The rest of the class was set into laughs again much to her embarrassment.

"Whether it's a plebeian or not, he still was summoned. Now hurry up and complete the ritual before I have to expel you for real."

"With… with this." She wined waving at the man.

"Now Ms. Valliere."

"Alright…" she gave a resigned sigh and began a slow march toward the armored man. Her classmates continued to laugh; some threw in a few cat calls as well. Considering what it takes to bind a familiar it made what she was about to do that much more embarrassing. Why couldn't she have just gotten a dragon?

"You'd better be grateful. You'd normally never get this from a noble." She hissed at him. There was an awkward pause when she noticed something. She fidgeted, and then waved her hand at him. "Kneel down and take your helmet off. I can't finish the ritual like this."

He was silent for a moment.

"No."

That was unexpected.

"What? What do you mean no!" Louise demanded angrily.

"From your brief interlude I would guess that this 'contract' will bound me as your servant. However I cannot accept this contract." His hidden face was impassive under the fluted helmet.

"What do you mean you won't accept the contract? I summoned you so now you're supposed to become my familiar!" She all but shouted. She was feeling indigent for being spoken back to by a commoner of all things. Things were bad already; if this commoner turned down the familiar contract she would only end up worse off for it.

"Yes you did call me fourth young one. But whether or not I accept the terms for your contract is of my own discretion." Louise felt the color drain from her face. Behind her the class's laughter grew louder. That statement was enough to ruin her last chance at a reputation utterly.

"I can't believe this. Not only did she get such a petty familiar but she can't even bind it to her."

"That's Louise the zero for you."

"Louise the Zero, she never fails to meet our expectations."

"Students please, enough. Nobles should not say such things about each other." Mr. Colbert's attempts to quite the crowd did little to help. Louise could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook with bitterness. Ruined by a rebellious summon. The insult to her was one almost too much too bare Why, WHY did everything go wrong? Why did everyone have to make fun of her? Their mockery stung deeper into her heart and left her feeling frail. If only she could fine some hole to hide a way in. Some place where no one could yell or laugh at her. Why did she have to be made fun of? Why she always have to fail? Why did she always have to be so alone?

"**SILENCE**"

And silence was given.

The laughter had stopped completely. The order had been barked with such a level of authority that even Mr. Colbert had gone quite. In the stun silence it took everyone a moment to realize that it was the swordsman who gave the order. Louise starred up to see him glaring at the crowd, a hand on his blades hilt ready to punish anyone that dared to disobey. If it weren't for the sudden force behind his voice, none of the assembled nobles would have stood the outrage of a commoner commanding them. As it was they were simply too shocked to speak.

"Now continuing where we left off." He returned his gaze to her. "Name your terms madam… Valliere was it? "

"Huh, terms?" Louise quickly wiped the moister off her face. Now she was confused before her mind got back on the situation. "But… I thought you said-"

"I said I wouldn't accept the contract. Since I didn't' know what its terms were I couldn't understand what my role for it would be. I never said anything about not becoming your familiar."

"Eh?" was all she could manage. What was the difference?

"Name the terms for our contract; if I find them acceptable then I shall become your familiar." Well, this could be good or bad now. On the one hand at least Louise might be able to get her familiar after all, even if it was just a commoner. On the other hand she had to convince said commoner to act like a glorified pet.

"Well…" She began. "The normal way a contract works is that the familiar protects and serves their master in exchange for food, shelter and companionship…." She trailed off trying desperately to make that sound more appealing. Who in their right mind would settle for such a one sided-

"That is acceptable." _Huh_, was all she could think. He had agreed to that to easily. "However I must ask of one condition." _Here we go now_. If she gave an unreasonable request then he would probably make one as well. "There is someone that I am searching for. If and when possible I would like to be give leave to search for that person. Also if possible to provide, that I be given any possible assistance in my search."

"A person you're looking for… well who is it that you're trying to find?" Louise asked.

"That I will only speak of if you agree to my condition." She pondered it for a moment. It seemed like an easy request to fulfill. And it wasn't like she was going to lose anything out of it anymore than she had. She was already scrapping the bottom of the barrel with this incident as it was; though she was also trying to decide if she should refuse. After all it was only a commoner and that was only slightly better than nothing at all. But that would mean disregarding the ritual, which would mean expulsion, and then having to face her mother.

She shuddered at the thought.

"Very well, your condition is accepted." It was a forced resolve but it was worth anything to be done with this life embarrassing charade.

"Then our contract can commence." He lowered himself to one knee and undid the hooks that held his helmet in place. His helm was removed to reveal a scarred and aged face. His hair was tied back to keep his banes out of his eyes. It might have been a rich brown color once before the streaks of gray had festered on his scalp. His cheeks and chin was darkened by the stubs of a shaved beard regrowing itself. And a long set of two scars that dug from his nose to the cheekbone under his right eye. The wrinkles were small, but they were there. If she had to guess Louise would have pegged him to be in his forty's.

"Please proceed with the ritual."

Louise took a few awkward steps forward. Thankfully the crowd was still silent, whether still shocked by her familiar's command or to mesmerized to speak she didn't care. Slowly she raised her wand to his chest. "I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière." She began. "Pentagon that governs the five powers, give this creature your blessing and make it my familiar spirit." She leaned in close and hesitantly kissed him.

There was a pause as the man waited patiently through the exchange. Then a hissing sound came from his left hand accompanied by smoke. The swordsman grimaced slightly and pulled his gauntlet off revealing a set of rules that were finishing branding themselves into his flesh. He and Louise examined them for a moment before he rouse to his feet and replaced his metal gloves.

"With this our pact is signed." He said replacing his helmet. "Now then what are you orders, Master Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière?"


	3. Hunting for a Mystery

The night had been interesting to say the least. When all the summoning ritual had finished and all the students left to go about their business Prof. Colbert had gone straight to schools library. He then spent hours into afternoon skimming and searching through the entirety of the academy's text and scrolls. When they failed to yield the information he was searching for the professor was then forced to get permission from the head master to go into the restricted section. There, late into the evening with stacks of books on both sides of him, Jean Colbert was nose deep into what must have been the thousandth manuscript he had read that night. He had been deeply engrossed into finding reference to one particular thing. The familiar summoned by Louise Vallière.

When everyone else had dismissed the man as a commoner and subjected the whole event to mockery the professor had instead taken a curious interest. He had cast a spell designed to gauge the amount of magic an object or creature possessed. What the spell reveled was a level of power so massive it practically radiated from the man's body. Whoever the swordsman was he was no commoner. The magic he had stored inside of him was on par with beings like the water spirit at Ragdorian Lake. In fact Jean doubted the man was even human.

And so here he was now digging through the archives for anything that might give him a clue to who _or what_ he was. He searched for reference to anything in the old lore. The blue stone, the strange symbols, the giant rings, the runes on his hand, even the images painted on the man's armor. Unfortunately the old tomes gave nothing for him to work off of. Jean briefly tried to entertain the notion that maybe the young Vallière had brought forth an entirely unknown familiar when he opened the next book on the stack. He had been exhausted by this point and was now just leafing through the pages. The current book he was reading was The legend of The Founder Brimir, one of the older text in the schools care. The book itself was a biography on the religiously revered founder of mage craft who wielded a lost power known as void magic. He had gotten about halfway through the third chapter when he hit upon the section dedicated to the holy figures own familiar.

Gandalfr. The professor nearly dropped his lantern when he read the words. It was the first thing he saw when he turned the page. Next to the title was a picture of the exact same runes that had been branded on the man's left hand. If what the book said was true then the man was a creature from the holy void. But would that also mean that Miss Vallière was a…

Yes. This night was very interesting. And tomorrow he would have to have a chat with the mysterious swordsman.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

The swordsman was currently embarking on what would his most difficult task in many years. He had faced darkened horrors that would make grown men cry out in terror, and opponents that out classed him on a mythical scale. But few of the nightmares of his past would have ever required the same amount of focus and skill that this mission needed.

The laundry needed to be washed.

Now one might picture the image of a full grown man in armor carrying a basket of women's 'unmentionables' and laugh. However the swordsman would be dead serious in saying this was a difficult task for him. Since he had been young fighting had been part of his life. So much so that he had little exposure to a domestic life style. Sure during his life he had needed to learn the basics of cooking and cleaning to keep food in his gut and his appearance acceptable for important interactions. However his experience with _laundry_ had stopped at throwing it in water and ringing it out over and over. He had a feeling that wasn't going to work with this one however. His highborn master wanted these "looking spotless" or he was going to face some sort of punishment. He sighed wearily at that. Not at the thought of punishment but his new masters childish behavior.

After the summoning and the signing of the pact were finished they had retired to his master's quarters for the night. There she proceeded to rant about not getting the desired familiar she wanted. He could understand the desire to have something impressive at ones beck and call, but if the few encounters he had with manticores and dragons were anything to go by the girl might have been trying to bite off more than she could chew. In the end she had decided to take her frustration out on him by throwing a pile of used clothing at him and telling him to go clean them. It would cause a little irritation but he could work with this. His master appeared to be a highborn member of wealth and influence. Since the girl agreed to help him in his search the swordsman would have a greater level of resources available in his search for _her_. If all he needed to do to find _her_ was wash the feet of some spoiled child for a few years then he would gladly endure it.

As he rounded the corner he had spotted two of the castles other residents, saying something about 'soufflés'. One of them, a blond boy in his teens, was one of the group assembled during the man's arrival. The other was brown haired girl, slightly younger than the boy. He passed the boy off as an imbecile from the way he was shamelessly flirting with the girl and walked past them. The armored man briefly wondered if the way their cloaks were colored meant something when he heard the boy call out to him.

"You there, commoner. Is it not rude to not address your betters?" The swordsman stopped and gave the boy a leveled stare. Yup, defiantly a fool if he was going to do something stupid like pick a fight with passerby's just to impress a girl.

"I apologize but I am in the middle of my own duties and you seemed otherwise engaged at the moment." He held up the basket in his hands for emphasis. The boy humped at that.

"What a boring individual. And I had thought from your appearance that you might have some sort of pride as a warrior. But no, you seem too content with such menial task." The man suppressed the urge to role his eyes at that.

"Excuse me I but I have to go. I would like to get on with my chores before the night is over and I'm sure you and the madam have your own business to complete." He turned and disregarded the boy completely, not wanting to listen to the boy's useless prattle anymore then he had to. The boy humped again but otherwise said nothing more.

The swordsman continued down the hall, his mind set once more on his task. First things first. If he couldn't deal with this task on his own, then he was going to need assistance.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

Siesta was busy humming and dusting away. When she was alone it was often her habit to daydream as she worked. Often these fantasies were of a prince charming or knight in shining armor coming to sweep her off her feet and carry her off into the sun set. They were short lived dreams as she knew the chances of a noble actually taking a commoner to be their wife was slim. But it was nice to dream anyway.

As she began dusting down one of the paintings of the griffon knights she settled into one of her other recurring fantasies. This one was where she was trapped in some dark castle waiting for a man in armor to come down in his noble stead and rescue her from the evil count. A bit cliché but it was hers to imagine.

"Oh, how I wish some brave knight would come and save me from this vile place." She muttered to herself. She was so caught up in her imagination that she failed to notice the sound of clinking metal on stone behind her.

"Excuse me madam, might you be one of the servants for the castle?" Siesta spun around in surprise and came face to chest with an armored breastplate. She slowly turned her gaze upward to see a set of blue eyes staring at her through a beak shaped faceplate. There was a long pause as she stood in shock while realization dawned on her.

"Ma'am?" The swordsman ventured. He wondered if he had insulted her somehow, perhaps she was one of the high born as well. Then she suddenly pointed a finger in his face.

"OH MY GOSH IT WORKED MY WISH CAME TRUE!" She exclaimed excitedly and began bouncing up and down excitedly.

Somehow, the swordsman could feel a slight headache appear for some reason.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

"Thank you Miss Siesta, I believe I can handle this from here." He was now quickly running the routine through his head for memorization. Lather, rub, rinse, wring out, and repeat. It seemed simple enough though some of the more exotic fabrics were going to take a bit more practice in their washing.

"N-no it's alright, I would be happy to help." The maid stuttered. She then sighed dejectedly. During the awkward first encounter Siesta had thought that one of her fantasies had become reality for her. That was shot down instantaneously when he had taken his helmet off to greet her properly. A man shining (well it was reflecting the light somewhat) armor yes. A YOUNG knight come to take her way, no. Granted the man was handsome in his own way, but the roughness mixed with his aged look didn't bring much satisfaction for her taste. Still he was polite and respectful of her and it would do well for her to at least try to be friendly with the man.

"By the way," she began, her hands already beginning to scrub a stain out of one of the skirts. "I never caught your name sir." The swordsman paused for a moment before continuing to wash the blouse he had been working on. "Anything you call me will be fine." He replied. Siesta looked up at him. "Well I can't just do that can I? Surely you must have something I can call you by?" The swordsman paused again and seemed to be deep in thought. Finally he replied "Slayer. Some of my former companions use to call me that." The maid gave the swordsman, now dubbed 'Slayer', another curious look. "Slayer? That's a bit of an odd name."

"Tiss more of a nickname than anything else." He admitted "The term seemed to stick and I came to prefer the title."

"Well, it's nice to meet you then Mister Slayer." She smiled pleasantly. He gave her a small smirk of the lip. "And pleasure to make your acquaintance as well Miss Siesta." They finished the rest of the washing in silence before departing. Siesta went to attend her other task and Slayer to return to his master, both saying their goodbyes as they left. He walked back to the dorms in silence, taking a slow glance about the school itself. From where he was in the courtyard, or one of several as it turned out, Slayer could see that the outer walls were laid out in a pentagon shape with towers at each edge to house different people. In the center was an even larger tower that was the school facility proper. It showed well that the castle was designed more for academia instead of defense from the lack of watch towers and the way the walls were too thin to have guards walk along them for patrol. Still the place seemed solidly built and it would take a more coordinated assault to breach its walls. It was while he was taking note of this that he noticed something silhouetted in the night sky.

It had massive flapping wings on powerful reptilian shoulders, a long serpent like body from head to its tail and four strong looking limbs hung from its torso. Slayer absentmindedly shifted one hand to the hilt of his sword as he took note of the blue dragon in the air. He had several encounters with dragons in the past; few of them were ever non violent meetings. True, those who he had fought with had been tainted and corrupted by a malevolent force but it still didn't set him at ease when it circled above. Why was one this close to a human settlement? Where he came from dragons rarely neared human territory unless they were encroaching on the dragons own. It wasn't until he spotted the small form of a human riding on it's back that he relaxed somewhat. So that was it, the dragon had been summoned as a familiar as well. Strange though, they were proud creatures and wouldn't give their loyalty that easily.

Still keeping an eye on the sky serpent as he walked, Slayer returned to the dorms. No one interrupted his journey back to his masters room this time as most of the buildings occupants were asleep, his master included he noted as he re-entered her room. He place the basket of cleaned clothes on the table and sat against the wall near the door.

He would have liked to leave to get a better layout of the building but his master had ordered him to wake her at dawn and he knew naught how long until the sun rouse. So there he would wait until the morning light came. Patience was a virtue, one that he had gained and been tested on for many years.

After all he would wait till the end of time, no matter how impossible his presence made that.


End file.
